The Chinese car manufacturer SAIC Motor plans to open a car assembly plant in Egypt. The information was revealed last March 26 by Tarek Kabil (photo), the Egyptian trade minister.

“The plant aims to meet the needs of the local market and position Egypt as a hub for car export to neighboring Arab and African countries with which Egypt has free trade agreements,” the minister said following a meeting with a delegation of the Chinese group.

“The government will grant tax incentives and other privileges to SAIC Motor to put Egypt on the global map of the automotive industry,” he added.

Michael Yang, Executive Director of SAIC Motor's international department, said the company's desire to invest in Egypt is based on its “conviction that the Egyptian market is one of the most important promising markets in the Middle East and Africa region”. He also indicated that discussions are underway to establish a distribution agreement with a local company.

For the record, SAIC Motor, which sold 6.6 million cars in 2017, is China's leading automaker. The group holds 23% of China’s car market thanks to its own brands such as Roewe and MG as well as some joint ventures with Volkswagen and General Motors.